Automatic tofu-packing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Tofu is automatically packed at high speed without damaging the tofu, and water is saved through elimination of the need for exposing the tofu to water. An automatic apparatus for packing tofu includes a pack-moving device  2  for conveying a pack P for tofu T, and a tofu-transporting device  3  disposed above the pack-moving device  2  and conveying cut tofu T having a packing size. Both the pack-moving device  2  and the tofu-transporting device  3  are used to move the tofu T and pack P in the same traveling direction, thereby placing the tofu T in a lower pack P from above.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus forautomatically packing tofu or deep-fried bean curd

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional methods for packing tofu or deep-fried bean curd includes,for example, a method comprising the steps of exposing blocks of tofumolded with a molding box to water in a tank, manually cutting eachblock of tofu into cakes of tofu having the same dimension as a productdimension and manually placing each cake of tofu in a container (pack)and, in the case of using the molding box, a method comprising the stepsof releasing the molded blocks of tofu into the tank containing water,transporting the blocks of tofu in water so as to be disposed atprescribed positions in water and placing a cake of tofu in a pack. Inaddition, in the case of using a continuous, automatic solidifying andmolding machine, disclosed is a technique comprising the steps oftransporting into a water tank intermediate blocks of tofu that has beencut to have a prescribed dimension, cutting each intermediate block oftofu into cakes of tofu having a product dimension, transporting thecakes of tofu in water or in a half-submerged state, and placing inwater each cake of tofu in a tofu pack that has separately beenconveyed. Thus, the conventional methods utilize underwatertransportation to place a cake of soft tofu in a pack without breakingthe cake of tofu through actions of treating the cake of tofu in water.

On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose apparatus forpacking tofu while being conveyed with a belt conveyor without placingthe tofu in water. To be specific, these methods adopt dropping the tofufrom a prescribed height position through an action of rapidly sliding aslide table or opening a door for a releasing mouth in a bottom plate.Since these methods do not release the tofu into water, they are socalled “onshore filling”. Actually, the number of the onshore fillingsteps adopted is smaller than that of the steps of placing tofu in wateradopted.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3343134

Patent Document 2: JP-A HEI 10-329806

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems the Invention Intends to Solve

While the conventional underwater placing methods require a water tankand a large quantity of water in order to release tofu into water andhave a merit of enabling the tofu to be packed utilizing waterresistance without damaging the tofu, the processing capacity thereofhas its own limits up to 3000 cakes of tofu per hour. On the other hand,the so-called onshore filling has merits of saving water, enabling anautomatic producing apparatus capable of producing 3000 cakes of tofuper hour or more, or sometimes up to 10000 cakes of tofu per hour, to bedeveloped and fresh and fluffy, soft cakes of tofu to be producedwithout exposing them to water in a water tank and without depriving thecakes of tofu of nutrition.

The method that adopts dropping tofu from a prescribed height positionthrough an action of rapidly sliding a slide table or opening a door fora releasing mouth in a bottom plate (Patent Document 1) entails theproblems of possibly damaging the tofu owing to dropping the tofu fromthe prescribed height and, even when the placement of the tofu hasslightly been deviated, making it impossible to remedy the deviation,thereby failing to well place the tofu. In addition, the action ofrapidly sliding the slide table requires two steps of plunging the tofuonto a glide plate and rapidly sliding the glide plate per packingaction. Furthermore, the action of opening the door for the releasingmouth in the bottom plate (Patent Document 2) requires two steps ofopening and closing the door. In both the two methods, purpose-designedapparatus used therein have a complicated structure. A conventionalonshore filling apparatus entails a problem of making it difficult toestablish the timing of placing tofu in a pack. In the meantime, whenthe action of opening the door for the releasing mouth in the slidetable or bottom plate is made rapider, a problem of machine breakdown, aconcern of possibly failing to guarantee a safety operation and aproblem of inserting grit and dust into a pack when packing tofu areinduced. Moreover, according to the conventional methods, there are manycases in which tofu is placed in a pack, with a large quantity of waterplaced in the pack, it is difficult to handle packs for various kinds ofcakes of tofu having different sizes, and since a block of tofu is cutinto cakes of tofu having a smaller size to form a large gap between thecake of tofu and the pack to the sight, the resultant packed statehaving a larger amount of water placed in the pack is brought about toinduce a negative product image.

In view of the above, the object of the present invention is to providean automatic tofu-packing apparatus capable of facilitating theestablishment of the timing of placing tofu in a pack, suppressing animpact of dropping the tofu onto the bottom of the pack and, whendropping the tofu to induce slight positional deviation, remedying thedeviation and then placing the tofu in the pack, and further coping withthe problem of a high-speed requirement.

Means for Solving the Problems

An automatic tofu-packing apparatus of the present invention comprisespack-moving means for conveying a pack for packing tofu, andtofu-transporting means disposed above the pack-moving means forconveying cut tofu having a packing size, wherein both the pack-movingmeans and the tofu-transporting means are used to move the tofu and packin a same traveling direction, thereby placing the tofu in a lower packfrom above. Here, the traveling directions of both the pack-moving meansand the tofu-transporting means are the same as each other in the caseof a horizontal direction (horizontal plane) and include the directionsin which at least one of these means is inclined in the case of verticaldirections (vertical planes). The two means include a belt conveyor, forexample. However, a mere plate may be used as the tofu-transportingmeans and fabricated as a glide plate inclined obliquely to slide thetofu thereon. In addition, the pack-moving means includes the cases ofmoving the pack in the same direction as the tofu-moving direction usinga conveyor and moving the pack from a conveyor to another conveyor usinga plunging plate.

Though the two means may be moved in the same direction and the timingmay be established so that the tofu-transporting means may not collideagainst the sidewall of the pack, according to the present invention, itis particularly preferred that the action of allowing the front andbottom end of tofu sent out from the tip of the tofu-transporting meansto collide against the front end inner wall surface of a pack to therebycatch and push the pack is adjusted. At this time, since the tofu iscontracted back and forth in a position of being slightly pulled, theback end of the tofu becomes easy to place in the back end inner side ofthe pack. Even in a state in which the tofu is placed in the pack asbeing slightly deviated in position, by adjusting the pack to be looselymovable back and forward to some extent (or right and left slightly), itis possible to place the tofu on the bottom of the pack as being shakenback and front (or slightly right and left) just in an image of manuallyshaking the pack back and forth (or right and left). Particularly in thestate in which the pack is loosely movable back and forth, the packabsorbs the impetus of the tofu sent and falling to effectively placethe tofu in the pack without damaging the tofu. Conventionally, it hasbeen necessary to produce tofu hard and not broken up so as to satisfythe packing method. Such tofu is deprived of its taste, is dry andtasteless and is not good. According to the present invention, however,it is possible to provide not only tofu that is fresh and fluffy, softand elastic, but also tofu that can be packed in the form of making useof its elasticity and is elastic in texture and good. In addition, anauxiliary effect of the present invention lies in that even when tofu isplaced as being slightly deviated in position and collides against thefront and back inner wall surfaces of a pack, impact of the tofu isabsorbed owing to the elasticity of the front and back inner wallsurfaces unlike the bottom wall surface, the positional deviation isremedied due to the elastic force of the tofu, and the tofu that hascaught the pack is well placed in the pack while shaking back and forth.The speeds at which the two means are moved back and forth in the samedirection are substantially the same and it is particularly optimum toadjust the timing or synchronism of the front end of the tofu collidingagainst the front end inner side surface of the pack. Preferably, byputting flexibility to the pack in the back-and-forth (or slightlyright-and-left) direction without keeping the pack fixed, theaforementioned loose movement of the pack is replied to. It is alsopreferable that water is placed in an empty pack as a cushion fulfillingits function when tofu is received in the pack. In addition, since theempty pack is lightweight and easy to deviate in position, it ispreferable to place water in the pack as a weight. Since the adjustmentof the amount of the water is related to the loose movement of the pack,it is desirably determined within an appropriate range. When the methodof sliding and entering tofu from one side thereof into a pack is thusadopted, the tofu does not need to be cut in a smaller appropriate sizerelative to the size of the pack and the amount of water to be placed inthe pack can be minimized. Furthermore, the tofu-transporting meanspreferably has a flat plate having no distortion (not a corrugated platedescribed later) because the flat plate is at ease with transportingcakes of tofu cut in different sizes at a tofu-cutting step that is apreceding step (including a mechanism of placing the cakes of tofu atintervals after the tofu-cutting step). That is to say, even in the caseof packs having different sizes, component replacement is not requiredand it is possible to readily handle various kinds of products (somekinds of pack sizes, too). As a matter of course, the acceptable packsizes fall within a range of one pitch of empty pack-supplying meansand, in the case where the pack sizes differ, the individual pitches ofthe packs (distances between respective adjacent cores) are the same.The tofu-transporting means is provided, besides the flat plate, withmeans for pushing the back end of tofu with a plate operated with adrive system, such as an air cylinder. Furthermore, by operating theplate in synchronism with a support plate applied to the front end ofthe tofu, it is possible to effectively suppress declination of thetiming and inclination of the plate incurred due to a slip of the tofu.It is preferred that the packs are pushed out, in synchronism with or bythe same operation as the aforementioned operation, using thepack-moving means.

Though the pack-moving means and tofu-transporting means may have ahorizontal and parallel relationship relative to each other in thepresent invention, it is preferred that one of the two means is inclinedin an intersecting direction relative to the other and moves. Accordingto the present invention, by moving tofu obliquely downward or moving apack obliquely upward, it is possible to make a drop between the tofuand the bottom of the pack small and place the tofu in the pack.Particularly, by making a state of (operating) the front end of the tofupushing the front end inner wall surface of the pack, like the mannerthat the tofu forms a shape contracted through being pushed back andforth at a moment when the tofu has been placed in the pack, the backend of the tofu is well placed in the back end inner side of the pack.Incidentally, since the drop can be minimized in the case where a packis moved obliquely upward, tofu is difficult to damage. The tofu may beplaced in the pack through forming the contracted shape of the tofuhaving been pushed back and forth while transporting thetofu-transporting means obliquely upward, and also transporting thepack-moving means obliquely upwardly.

It is preferred in the present invention that the pack-moving meansdescends at a moment when the tofu is placed in the pack. According tothe present invention, by causing the pack-moving means to descenddownward at a moment when the tofu is placed in the pack, the tofu canbe placed in the pack, with the dropping impact by the tofu minimized.Even in the case where the tofu drops from the tofu-transporting means,for example, the tofu is placed in the pack, with the tofu-droppingdistance minimized. At this time, placing some quantity of water in thepack enables the impact to be absorbed. In addition, in order tominimize the tofu-dropping distance before the descending operation, anoperation of causing the pack to once ascend may be adopted.

It is preferred in the present invention that the pack-moving meansmoves horizontally and that the tofu-transporting means comprises a thinglide plate inclined obliquely downward. Preferably, the glide plate isa thin plate having no distortion (the plate has a thickness of 0.1 to1.0 mm, preferably 0.5 to 2 mm, is made of stainless steel, titanium orresin for food products including fluorine resin and polypropyleneresin, and has no particular limitations insofar as it is a flat, smoothand level plate acceptable from the standpoint of food sanitation). Inthe case where the pack-moving means moves horizontally, the relativeinclination angle is preferably in the range of 0 to 45°, mostpreferably in the range of 2 to 15°. In addition, the pack-moving meanshas no particular limitations insofar as it moves horizontally, andincludes a conveyor for transportation moving horizontally, a type ofpushing out the pack on the flat plate using a push-out plate and a typeof pushing out the pack from a conveyor for transportation to anotherconveyor for transportation using a push-out plate. According to thepresent invention, it is possible to reduce the number of components ofthe apparatus in comparison with the case where a belt conveyor isdisposed and place the tofu in the pack as being slid obliquelydownward. The tofu-transporting means that is a flat slid plate isadvantageous for reducing the inclination angle thereof and, reductionof the inclination angle relative to the pack-moving means enables thetofu to be easily moved at the same speed. Incidentally, it is effectivethat the glide plate is made porous for assisting in the sliding of thetofu so as to jet air or water or that sprinkling of water onto theglide plate is appropriately performed. As the case may be, the surfaceof the pack-moving means is subjected to a concavo-convex process (to anextent not damaging the tofu) that produces minute round concaves andconvexes in the vertical direction (traveling direction of tofu) to makethe tofu difficult to deviate in position right and left. This has aneffect of preventing slight positional deviation of the tofu.

It is preferred in the present invention that the pack-moving meanscomprises at least two conveyors, which are a conveyor disposed on asupply side and a conveyor disposed on a takeoff side, and a plungingplate for moving the pack from the conveyor on the supply side to theconveyor on the takeoff side and placing the pack on the conveyor on thetakeoff side. When an apparatus has a structure in which the pack-movingmeans is moved in the lateral direction (including in the obliquedirection, i.e. in the same direction as the tofu-moving direction), theapparatus is large-sized and the structure thereof is complicated.According to the present invention, however, since the plunging plate isused to move the pack from the conveyor on the supply side to theconveyor on the takeoff side and placing the pack on the conveyor on thetakeoff side, the pack can be moved in the lateral direction (in thesame direction as the tofu-moving direction) through the adjustment ofthe speed of the plunging plate. When the tofu-transporting means is aconveyor, providing the conveyor with an elimination mechanism bringsabout an effect of enabling residues and leavings of the tofu to becontinuously removed during the operation of the apparatus.

It is preferred in the present invention that exhausting means isconnected to the pack-moving means for disposing of defective tofu andits leavings. According to the present invention, the exhausting meansis used to enable the defective tofu and its leavings to be easilydisposed of without changing the position of the pack-moving means.

It is preferred in the present invention that the tofu-transportingmeans or exhausting means has a concave portion for partitioning thetofu and a cake of tofu cut in a size for packing. According to thepresent invention, the presence of the concave portion enables the cuttofu to be accurately directed to the pack without being inclined and tobe placed in the pack.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, the tofu-transporting means andpack-moving means are moved in the same direction within the horizontalplane, it is possible to place the tofu on the bottom of the pack in astate in which the tofu is shaken back and forth in the movingdirection, like a state in which the pack is manually shaken right andleft, and back and forth. In addition, since the operation is performed,in which the pack is allowed to descend at a moment when the tofu isreceived in the pack, it is possible to reduce damage or injury of thetofu due to its dropping. Particularly, by causing the front and bottomends of the tofu sent out from the forward end of the tofu-transportingmeans to collide against the front end inner wall surface of the packand adjusting the action of causing the tofu to catch and push the pack,it is possible to place the tofu on the bottom of the pack as beingshaken back and front (or slightly right and left) just in an image ofmanually shaking the pack back and forth (or right and left) withoutdamaging the tofu even when a small amount of water is placed in thepack. In addition, by means of the two means, it is possible to easilyestablish the timing of moving the tofu and pack in the same direction,remedy subtle positional deviation and reply to high-speedtransportation and packing. Furthermore, by configuring the apparatussimply so as to dispose the glide plate obliquely and use the conveyorto transport the tofu, the transportation and packing can be performedat higher speeds. In addition, by adopting the onshore filling, it ispossible to save the amount of water for exposing the tofu thereto.Moreover, while the conventional apparatus requires two actions ofplunging the tofu onto the glide plate and rapidly sliding the glideplate, the apparatus of the present invention requires one action ofplunging the tofu onto the glide plate, which action is not possiblyrequired when adopting the inclination posture, to shorten the timerequired, induce rare machine breakdown, enable long-time operation andconstitute a mechanical structure excellent in high-speed massproduction. Furthermore, since the pack-moving means is disposed belowthe tofu-transporting means, foreign matter is difficult to mix in thetofu until the tofu is placed in the pack and, at the same time, spacesaving can be attained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 includes schematic views showing an automatic tofu-packingapparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention,(a) being a side view thereof and (b) being a side view showing anexample of push-out means used in the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the automatic tofu-packing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which a cake of tofu isplaced in a pack.

FIG. 4 includes schematic views showing a state in which the cake oftofu is being cut with a cutting device, (a) showing a state in whichcutting blades of the cutting device are placed close together and (b)showing a state in which the cutting blades are placed at prescribedintervals.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another example of the automatictofu-packing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing still another example of theautomatic tofu-packing apparatus, particularly in a state in whichcleaning equipment is disposed.

FIG. 7 includes side views schematically showing an automatictofu-packing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention, (a) showing a state in which a central conveyor fortransportation is held horizontal and (b) showing a state in which thecentral conveyor for transportation is held obliquely downward.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is includes schematic views showing an automatic tofu-packingapparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention,(a), (b) and (c) being side views illustrating movements thereof.

FIG. 10 includes side views schematically showing the movements of anautomatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packingapparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 includes side views schematically showing cross-sectional shapesof tofu-transporting means or exhausting means in the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packingapparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packingapparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packingapparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 includes side views schematically showing practical applicationsof the automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 17 includes side views illustrating a packing operation in whichonly a cake of tofu is moved, with the pack fixed.

FIG. 18 includes side views illustrating a packing operation, with theautomatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the first embodiment used.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SYMBOLS

-   Z1 to Z8: automatic tofu-packing apparatus-   1: tofu-producing belt conveyor (conveyer for transportation)-   2: pack-moving means-   2 a: belt conveyor on a supply side (conveyer for transportation)-   2 b: belt conveyor on a takeoff side (conveyer for transportation)-   2 c, 2 d, 2 e: central belt conveyors (conveyers for transportation)-   3: tofu-transporting means, 3 a: glide plate, 3 b: belt conveyor    (conveyor for transportation)-   3 c: adjustment plate-   5: tofu-push-out means (push-out plate, plunging means)-   7: pack-plunging plate (push-out plate, plunging means)-   11: exhausting means-   12: disposal box-   B: block of tofu-   P: pack, Pe: the edge of the pack-   T: a cake of tofu cut to have the size of an encasement pack-   Ta: top end of the cake of tofu, Tb: bottom end of the cake of tofu-   e: concave portion-   s: space (gap between a pack and the cake of tofu)-   Tf: traveling direction of tofu-transporting means-   Pf: traveling direction of pack-moving means

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An automatic tofu-packing apparatus of the present invention will bedescribed hereinafter in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1( a) includes side views showing the present embodiment and FIG. 2is a plan view thereof. The present embodiment relates to an automatictofu-packing apparatus Z1 comprising a belt conveyor 1 for producingtofu, pack-moving means 2 for moving an empty pack in which tofu ispacked, a pack-plunging plate 7 (7 a) for pushing out the empty pack,tofu-transporting means 3 disposed above the puck-plunging means 7 andpack-moving means 2 for transporting a cake of tofu cut to have a sizefor packing, and tofu-push-out means 5. In the case of using atofu-producing belt conveyor 1 (continuous, automatic solidifying andmolding machine), adopted in many cases are the steps of transporting anintermediate block of tofu cut to have a prescribed dimension into awater tank, cutting the intermediate block of tofu in water into cakesof tofu having a product dimension, transporting the cakes of tofu inwater and packing each cake of tofu in a pack. In the presentembodiment, however, tofu is placed, through the so-called onshorefilling not requiring a water tank to be disposed, in a pack P in whicha small amount of water has been placed. Here, the tofu widely includessilken tofu, cotton tofu, soft cotton tofu, soft tofu (having silkentofu given grains), fried bean curd, fried bean curd of silken tofu andfried bean curd of cotton tofu and, particularly includes these kinds oftofu of a quality fresh and fluffy and very soft.

In the tofu-producing belt conveyor 1, on an entrance side thereof,heated soymilk is introduced to produce a block of tofu B and, on anexit side thereof, the block of tofu B is cut at prescribed intervals,and the tofu cut at the prescribed intervals (strip-shaped tofu) is cutinto cakes of tofu having a size for packing. The cakes of tofu arespaced so as to meet the prescribed intervals at which the packs areconveyed. The tofu-producing belt conveyor 1 has an endless belt whichis a tough sheet member and which is wound on sprockets (rollers)disposed on the opposite ends of the conveyor as extending between them,and is adapted to produce tofu on the tough sheet member. A cuttingmechanism K is disposed above the exit side, provided with plural bladesk1 to k7 placed at prescribed intervals. The blades cut the block oftofu B having its forward end cut, simultaneously cut the block of tofuB into cakes of tofu having the size for packing, and are spaced so asto meet the prescribed intervals at which the packs are conveyed (FIG.4).

The tofu-transporting means 3 is adapted to transport plural cakes oftofu T, which have been obtained by cutting on the tofu-producing beltconveyor 1 to have a size for packing and spaced, toward the packs P(the traveling direction is shown by reference symbol Tf in FIG. 1( a)).In the present embodiment, it comprises a metal glide plate inclinedobliquely for sliding the cakes of tofu. In the present embodiment, thetofu-transporting means 3 is provided thereon with push-out means 5 forpushing out the cakes of tofu cut to have the size for packing. Thepush-out means 5 is disposed above the tofu-producing belt conveyor 1and it is possible not to dispose the push-out means above thetofu-transporting means 3 as the glide plate. In addition, the push-outmeans 5 may function to move the cakes of tofu to the exit at theforward end of the tofu-transporting means 3 or, in the case where thetofu-transporting means 3 is the glide plate inclined obliquely, merelypress the cut cakes of tofu from above to partway. In addition, thepush-out means 5 may comprise paired push-out means 5 a and 5 b so as tosandwich the cake of tofu T at the front and back surfaces thereof asshown in FIG. 1( b). With this, variations in slight inclination andtraveling direction of the cut cake of tofu can be suppressed.

The pack-moving means 2 is adapted to move empty packs for packing thecakes of tofu therein. The packs are transported at prescribed intervalsonto a conveyor 1 for transportation (the traveling direction is shownby reference symbol Tf in FIG. 1( a)), pushed out with the pack-plungingplate 7 and, after being filled with the cake of tofu, conveyed furtherto a prescribed place. The pack-moving means 2 in the present embodimentis provided with a belt conveyor 2 a on a supply side and a beltconveyor 2 b on a takeoff side and further with the pack-plunging plate7. The pack-plunging plate 7 is adapted to move the pack P from the beltconveyor 2 a on the supply side to the belt conveyor 2 b on the takeoffside and dispose the pack on the belt conveyor on the takeoff side andhas a plunging plate 7 a made of metal (material is no object) and movedwith a cylinder 7 b in the same direction and at substantially the samespeed as the cake of tofu and, on this occasion, the cake of tofu isplaced from above in the pack. There is no space or an intervening platebetween the belt conveyor 2 a on the supply side and the belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side, and the cut cake of tofu is transferred from theformer belt conveyor onto the latter belt conveyor. The pack P is madepreferably of resin material excellent in lubricity, chemical resistanceand flexibility, such as nylon, polyacetal, polycarbonate, PET, PPO andPBT. The shape of the pack P includes rectangle (inverted trapezoid whenbeing viewed from the side thereof) or circular cylinder, but is notlimitative. Here, however, the pack has a shape of the invertedtrapezoid when being viewed from the side thereof, has a brim on theouter circumferential upper end thereof and is used generally forplacing the cake of tofu therein. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing thestate in which the cake of tofu T has been placed in the pack P, fromwhich it is understood that spaces s are formed between the cake of tofuand the pack at the front wall Pa and back wall Pb in the travelingdirection. A suitable amount of water is beforehand placed in the packto be conveyed from the pack-moving means 2 to produce an effect ofcushion when receiving the cake of tofu, function as a weight andproduce an effect of positional deviation prevention. FIG. 18 includesviews illustrating the state of a moment when the cake of tofu T isplaced in the pack P and the state in which the cake of tofu T is placedin the pack P while the two are shaken in the same traveling direction(on the right side in the figure).

The belt conveyor 2 b on the takeoff side does not come into contactwith any other portion of the pack P than the bottom surface of the packP. The cake of tofu T is placed in the pack P in a state in whichshaking of the sidewalls of the pack in the front-back direction isallowed. That is to say, the flexible pack P made of synthetic resin isconveyed, with the bottom surface thereof brought into contact with theconveyor 2 b for transportation and, when the cake of tofu T has beendropped, it may possibly be damaged due to the dropping impact. However,since the front and back walls Pa and Pb of the pack P do not come intocontact with the conveyor 2 b for transportation, the cake of tofu T canbe placed in the pack in the state in which the shaking in thefront-back direction is allowed and is difficult to damage unlike on thebottom surface of the pack.

Here, as the tofu-transporting means 3 and the tofu-push-out means 5,belt conveyors can be substituted for the glide plate 3 a. That is tosay, as shown in FIG. 5, a configuration may be adopted, in which a beltconveyor 3 b is disposed obliquely toward the pack-plunging means 7without disposing the plunging plate for plunging the pack until beingpacked with the cake of tofu T above the belt conveyor 3 b. That is tosay, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the plunging plate 5 is adapted totransfer the cut cake of tofu T onto the belt conveyor 3 b and, uponcompletion of this transfer, the cake of tofu T is conveyed obliquelydownward with the belt conveyor 3 b. On the other hand, the pack-movingmeans 2 may be used to move the pack in the same direction as the cakeof tofu T with the conveyor for transportation or move the pack onto theflat plate with the plunging plate 5.

According to the present embodiment, therefore, by synchronizing themovement of the cake of tofu transported with the belt conveyor and themovement of the receiving container (pack) and moving (operating) thepack-push-out means 7 in substantially the same direction as thesynchronized movements, the cake of tofu T can be placed on the bottomof the pack while accompanying shaking in an image of manually shakingthe pack back and forth, and right and left. By synchronizing themovements of the cake of tofu T and the pack P in an image of trapping asoccer ball or by slightly changing the relative movement, the cake oftofu is placed in the pack without damaging, exposing to water andbraking the fresh and fluffy cake of tofu. That is to say, as shown inFIG. 18, it is preferred that the front end (and lower end) of the cakeof tofu T sent out from the tofu-transporting means 3 is allowed tocollide against the forward end inner wall of the pack P and that theaction of catching and pushing the pack P with the cake of tofu T isadjusted. At this time, since the cake of tofu T has a posture slightlypushed and contracted back and forward (FIG. 18( c)), the back end Tb ofthe cake of tofu T is easy to store in the back end inner wall surfacePb of the pack P. Even in the state in which the cake of tofu is placedin the pack P as being slightly deviated, by enabling the pack P to bemoved back and forward (or slightly right and left) to some extent andproviding the front-back spaces s as shown in FIG. 3, the cake of tofu Tcan be placed on the pack bottom (FIG. 18( c) to FIG. 18( d)) whileaccompanying front-back (or slightly right-left) shaking in an image ofmanually shaking the pack P back and forward (or right and left).Conventionally, it has been necessary to produce tofu hard and notbroken up so as to satisfy the packing method. Such tofu is deprived ofits taste, is dry and tasteless and is not good. According to thepresent invention, however, it is possible to provide tofu that iselastic and good using the method for producing tofu which is fresh andfluffy, and soft and which can be packed in the form of making use ofits elasticity. In other words, the apparatus according to the presentembodiment is not suitable for producing tofu bad in quality includingfragile tofu and tofu weak in adhesiveness. It is effective that ahigh-speed, a continuous, automatic tofu solidifying and molding line isprovided with a mechanism of appropriately disposing of such defectivetofu with exhausting means 11. Since tofu fragile and not elastic asbitching out inevitably from customers can readily be visually judged,it is possible to naturally manage the quality thereof and prevent suchdefective products from being shipped out. To the contrary, in the casewhere only the cake of tofu T is moved, with the position of the packfixed (a belt V in FIG. 17 moves not in the traveling direction of thecake of tofu T), as shown in FIGS. 17( a), 17(b) and 17(c), since theforward end of the cake of tofu T immediately drops onto the packbottom, accurate packing is not performed.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible toefficiently place the cake of tofu T cut to have a product dimension inthe pack P for a very short period of time without releasing the cake oftofu into a water tank, provide a high processing ability and reduce theinstallation space. When using the continuous, automatic solidifying andmolding machine 1, loss capacity can be minimized without damaging orbreaking up even silken tofu that is fresh and fluffy, and soft. Since agreat amount of water is not used, this enables a drainage volume to bereduced, and is economical and hygienic without contaminating the watertank with bacteria. Incidentally, since the nutrient content and sugarcontent of tofu elute off when the tofu has been exposed to water(released into the water tank), this brings about the reduction insweetness, umami, nutrition value, functionality and physiologicaleffect of the tofu. When the tofu kept in a hot state of a temperatureof around 60 to 90° C. is packed, the proliferation of airborne bacteriathat may possibly be mixed in the tofu or pack can be inhibited.

Here, by making the inclination angle of the glide plate 3 a horizontalin the same state as that in which the pack is horizontally moved on theempty pack-moving means 2 by means of the pack-push-out plate 7, ornearly horizontal, the packs P moved with the pack-push-out plate 7 andcut cakes of tofu transported with the tofu-transporting means 3 aremoved at substantially the same speed (strictly, at the same speed whenbeing viewed from above) to enable the cakes of tofu to be placed in thepacks, respectively. When the glide plate is set to have such a subtleinclination angle, a thin flat glide plate 3 a is advantageously used.Incidentally, It can be understood through visual observation of thelateral side as shown in FIG. 1 whether or not the pack-moving means 2and tofu-transporting means 3 are synchronized. In addition, both thepack-push-out plate 7 operating on the pack-moving means 2 and thetofu-transporting means 3 may comprise movable conveyors. Since the feedrates of the respective conveyors are variable using an inverter andsubtle movement can appropriately be set, it is possible to provide apacking apparatus easy to control and good-natured for the products. Inaddition, the tofu may move horizontally and the pack may ascendobliquely upward.

As a practical application of the present embodiment, it is possible todispose cleaning equipment 9 below the conveyor belt 3 b for tofu forcleaning the belt. This aims at cleaning tofu residues at the times ofthe start of operation, completion of the operation and packingoperations to clean the belt inserted into the water tank or clean thebelt through a jet of water or water clarification. In the cleaningequipment 9, tofu residues are continuously removed and the cakes oftofu may be sterilized with hot water or chlorine water. In addition,the apparatus also has an advantage in that the operation canhygienically be made while removing the tofu residues. The insertion ofwaste of tofu into the container can be minimized. By disposing thecleaning equipment 9 below the belt 3 b, a dead space can effectively beutilized and, at the same time, the cleaning equipment 9 can be usedalso for cleaning the pack-moving means 2.

As shown in FIGS. 6( a) and 6(b), by the movement in an image ofmanually placing the tofu smoothly in the pack, i.e. by forming as awhole a movable pectinate portion 8 (FIG. 16( b)) and driving theportion, to guide the tofu to the pack bottom (in a state in which thetofu is easy to place in the pack bottom), thereby forming a structurein which the tofu can be inserted obliquely in the forward bottom cornerin the pack P. As a result, the tofu T is received on the forward innersurface of the pack P and, at the same time, the pack P is pushed outforward in synchronism with the tofu T pushed out to enable the slidingmovement from a forward end 8 of the glide plate 3 a obliquely insertedwhile the pack descends. By making the forward end 8 of the glide plate3 a movable (making it of flexible resin, thin stainless-steel spring ortitanium), the tofu can be dropped so as not break up it.

Second Embodiment

The present embodiment relates, as shown in FIGS. 7( a), 7(b) and 8, toan automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z2 in which a transportationconveyor 2 c is disposed between the belt conveyor 2 a on the supplyside and the belt conveyor 2 b on the takeoff side and used in place ofthe pack-push-out plate 7. By disposing the transportation conveyor 2 c,it is possible to provide a structure in which the horizontal intervalsof moving the packs to the right side in FIG. 7 can sufficiently besecured. That is to say, even after the tofu T dropping from the glideplate 3 a is placed in the pack P, the transportation by thetransportation conveyor 2 c is not stopped though the speed thereof maybe deadened. As a result, by securing allowable shaking (waggle) in astate in which the tofu T has been placed in the pack P, i.e. byutilizing the spaces s and the loose movement of the pack per se (FIG.3), the tofu T can be placed in the pack without being damaged. Inaddition, as shown in FIG. 7( b), it is effective that thetransportation conveyor 2 c is inclined downward.

Furthermore, by delaying the speed of the transportation conveyor 2 cimmediately after placing in the pack the tofu T transported by means ofthe transportation conveyor 2 c, shaking of the pack P (front-backshaking in the moving direction) can be suppressed. That is to say, thepack pushed out is not fixed forward, but is loosely movable (free) toenable the shock given when receiving the tofu to escape. Moreover, bymaking the belt of the belt conveyor of the transportation conveyor 2 cof rubber exhibiting elasticity in the vertical direction, it ispossible to variably adjust the speed of the transportation conveyor 2 cto be optimum and absorb the momentum of the dropping tofu T.Incidentally, the forward end 3 d of the glide plate 3 a is configuredto have a large inclination angle.

Third Embodiment

The present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatusZ3, as shown in FIGS. 9( a), 9(b) and 9(c), in which a pack-moving means2 comprises a belt conveyor 2 a on the supply side, a belt conveyor 2 bon the takeoff side and a central belt conveyor 2 c. The central beltconveyor 2 c is configured to be movable up and down with drive means10. The pack is moved from the belt conveyor 2 a on the supply side ontothe central belt conveyor 2 c movable up and down by means of a plungingplate 7A and from the central belt conveyor 2 c movable up and down ontothe belt conveyor 2 b on the takeoff side by means of a plunging plate7B. As shown in FIG. 9( b), the central belt conveyor 2 c receives apack P from the belt conveyor 2 a on the supply side and moves downimmediately before or after receiving a cake of tofu T cut to have asize for packing in the pack P, to place the tofu T in the pack P and,upon completion thereof, the plunging plate 7B pushes out the pack fromthe central belt conveyor 2 c to the belt conveyor 2 b on the takeoffside.

Fourth Embodiment

The present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatusZ4, as shown in FIG. 10, in which a belt conveyor 2 e on the takeoffside moves up or down when placing tofu T in a pack P. That is to say,the belt conveyor 2 e movable up and down with drive means 10 is movedup immediately before placing the tofu T in the pack P when a plungingplate 7 moves the pack P from a belt conveyor 2 a on the supply sideonto the belt conveyor 2 e and, at a moment when (simultaneously with orimmediately before) the tofu T is placed in the pack P, moved down bymeans of the drive means 10 (FIGS. 10( b) and 10(c)). In order toestablish the timing at that time, a tofu-transporting means 3 isprovided on the forward end thereof with an adjustment plate 3 c foradjusting the length (or angle) of the tofu-transporting means. Bymoving the tofu T up or down with the timing established, it is possibleto minimize the dropping distance between the tofu T and the pack bottomand, at the same time, alleviate the impact of the tofu collidingagainst the back bottom. That is to say, a hand is applied to the tofu Tdropping obliquely downward and receives the dropped tofu. In an imageof trapping a soccer ball, for example, the tofu T is placed in the packP while moving the tofu. Thereafter, the belt conveyor 2 e is moved downwith the drive means 10 to return the height thereof to its originalheight the same as the height of the belt conveyor 2 a on the supplyside (FIGS. 10( d) to 10(e)). The adjustment plate 3 c is made of aflexible material, SUS spring steel or a flexible material in the formof a chute and may be a chute for guiding tofu onto the pack bottom sothat the tofu is not be bent. In addition, it is effective to formconcave portions e in cross section as shown in FIGS. 12( b) to 12(e).

Fifth Embodiment

The present embodiment is directed to an automatic tofu-packingapparatus Z5 provided with an exhausting plate that is one of exhaustingmeans 11 for disposing of tofu T cut to have a size for packing relativeto a disposal box 12, for example. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 11,the exhausting means 11 can advance and retreat so as to coverpack-moving means 2. Though it is brought to a standby position as shownby the dashed line in FIG. 11 during the operation of packing the tofuT, it is moved to the left side in the figure to cover the pack-movingmeans 2 and brought to a state in which it is connected to the lowerside end of tofu-transporting means 3. The exhausting means 11 isdisposed obliquely and, therefore, it is possible to dispose of the tofuT relative to the disposal box 12 as sliding from the tofu-transportingmeans 3 to the disposal box via the exhausting means 12. The exhaustingmeans 11 may be configured as a scraping-out device. By inserting theexhausting means 11 beneath the tofu-transporting means 3 to use theexhausting means 11 that is tofu disposal means for disposing ofdefective tofu and tofu residues, it is possible to remove tofu lost inrise and clean and remove residues incurred during the production oftofu. Incidentally, as described later, it is possible to provide theexhausting means 11 with concave portions e. According to the presentembodiment, the exhausting means 11 is used to enable defective tofu(the finished state confirmed) or its leavings to be disposed of withoutchanging the position of the pack-moving means 2.

Here, FIG. 12 includes cross sections in the lateral direction relativeto the traveling direction of the tofu-transporting means 3, showingthat the concave portions e are disposed for partitioning tofu T andtofu T cut to have a size for packing. The concave portions e of thetofu-transporting means 3 serve to correct the tofu T slightly deviatedin position to be just placed in the pack P and convey the tofu T so asnot to be inclined, and corrugated or hollow-ground concave portions eare conceivable (FIGS. 12( b) to FIG. 12( e)). Incidentally, FIG. 12( a)shows a case where there is no concave portion e, for comparison. Forthis reason, the tofu T cut to have a prescribed size for packing canaccurately be placed naturally in the pack. The tofu can be placed inthe pack with exactitude even when the tofu T has slightly irregularlyinclined in position or exhibited a slight change its position resultingfrom a change in sliding motion of the tofu due to the quality of thetofu. Incidentally, the packs may be conveyed as a unit of two or threeconnected packs.

Sixth Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 13, the present embodiment relates to an automatictofu-packing apparatus Z6, in which a belt conveyor that is thetofu-transporting means 3 is disposed in the horizontal direction andthe pack-moving means 2 is disposed obliquely upward in a directionintersecting the tofu-transporting means 3. Belt conveyors are used asthe tofu-transporting means 3 and the pack-moving means 2, and astructure in which the pack P is allowed to gradually ascend obliquelywith two belt conveyors 2 g is adopted. It is possible to use the beltconveyors 2 g having the same size as the belt conveyor 3 b that is usedas the tofu-transporting means 3 and to adjust the speed of the formerconveyors to be the same as the that of the latter conveyor. It isoptional in accordance with the practice that the pack-moving means 2 isprovided with a stopper for preventing the pack P from being slid.According to the present embodiment, therefore, the pack P is directedobliquely upward to place therein the tofu T moved in the horizontaldirection as scraping out the tofu.

Seventh Embodiment

The present embodiment relates, as shown in FIG. 14, to an automatictofu-packing apparatus Z7, in which tofu-transporting means 3 b isdisposed as being directed obliquely downward, and pack-moving means 2is disposed as being directed obliquely upward. Belt conveyors are usedas the tofu-transporting means 3 and the pack-moving means 2, and thepack-moving means 2 comprises a horizontal belt conveyor 2 h and aninclined belt conveyor 2 g disposed in that order. A pack P istransferred from the tofu-transporting means 3 onto the inclined beltconveyor 2 g and conveyed obliquely upward and places therein the tofu Tmoved obliquely downward from the tofu-transporting means 3 b asscraping out the tofu. Here, it is desirable to use the belt conveyorshaving the same size as the inclined belt conveyor 2 g and thetofu-transporting means 3 b and adjust the inclined angles and speedsthereof to be the same as each other, respectively. In addition, it isdesirable to adjust the speeds to be substantially the same as eachother as being viewed from above.

Eighth Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 15, the present embodiment relates to an automatictofu-packing apparatus Z8 in a state in which water is placed in a tankup to the lower portion of tofu-transporting means 3 b. Water W isfilled in a pack P conveyed with pack-moving means 2. In addition, thelevel of the water W in the tank reaches up to the lower portion of thetofu-transporting means 3.

According to the present embodiment, therefore, since tofu T conveyedwith the tofu-transporting means 3 is placed in the pack P, with thepack filled with the water W, the tofu T is placed in the pack P via thewater W. In addition, since the level of the water W in the water tankreaches the lower portion of the tofu-transporting means 3 and since thetofu T is transported while receiving the resistance of the water andplaced in the pack P, this is advantageous in that the degree of damageof the tofu is small.

As has been described in the foregoing, the automatic tofu-packingapparatus of the present invention can heighten the producing capacitythrough the onshore filling not using a water tank and, as described inthe embodiments, can be used in the water tank or in the half-submergedstate. Thus, the apparatus is not necessarily limited to use for theonshore filling.

1. An automatic tofu-packing apparatus comprising: pack-moving means forconveying a pack for packing tofu; and tofu-transporting means disposedabove the pack-moving device for conveying cut tofu having a packingsize; wherein both the pack-moving means and the tofu-transporting meansare used to move the tofu and pack in a same traveling direction,thereby placing the tofu in a lower pack from above.
 2. An automatictofu-packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of thetwo means moves obliquely in a direction intersecting with the other ofthe two means.
 3. An automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the pack-moving means descends at a moment when the tofu isplaced in the pack.
 4. An automatic tofu-packing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the pack-moving means moves horizontally and thetofu-transporting means is a thin glide plate inclined obliquelydownward.
 5. An automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the pack-moving means comprises at least two conveyors, whichare a conveyor disposed on a supply side and a second conveyor disposedon a takeoff side for receiving and taking out the pack from theconveyor on the supply side, and a plunging plate for moving the packfrom the conveyor on the supply side to the conveyor on the takeoff sideand placing the pack on the conveyor on the takeoff side.
 6. Anautomatic tofu-packing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising exhausting means connected to the pack-moving means fordisposing of defective tofu and its leavings.
 7. An automatictofu-packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetofu-transporting means or exhausting means has a concave portion forpartitioning the tofu and a cake of tofu cut in a size for packing.